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Re: SCOTUS LIVEBLOG - Obamacare Mandate Survives [W:125]

Originally Posted by Kandahar

Political salesmanship should have no bearing on the actual constitutional issues. And today, fortunately, that philosophy seems to have won the day.

I agree with you that should be the case in a perfect world. But that ignores the state of American political culture. There can be no peace between us. The political culture makes that impossible. Your side won a great victory today. But American politcal culture now requires that the well be so poisoned that your victory becomes pyrrhic. Neither one of us made these rules. But we can't change the rules. This death spiral can't be prevented.

Re: SCOTUS LIVEBLOG - Obamacare Mandate Survives [W:125]

Originally Posted by Thunder

Question: if you are self-employed, how does ACA help you pay for health insurance?

If your income is less than 400% of the federal poverty line, you will receive subsidies to help you purchase it. States will set up health insurance exchanges to help you shop around for the best price (and more importantly, foster competition among health insurance companies). Additionally, health insurers will be required to spend at least 80-85% of revenue on health care...if the insurer spend less, all customers will be reimbursed for the difference.

And an underappreciated aspect of the law: It chips away at the link between employers and health insurance by taxing "Cadillac plans." It's not enough to completely break the link, but it at least opens the door to future congresses expanding upon this. This will be very good for self-employed people, students, and anyone else who doesn't get insurance through their employer.

Are you coming to bed?I can't. This is important.What?Someone is WRONG on the internet! -XKCD

I was talking about what Roberts actually said. Where you then talking about some other thing that had nothing to do with my comment you quoted?

I didn't quote a comment. I will now though, as a result of your impetuosity:

“The question is not whether that is the most natural interpretation of the mandate, but only whether it is a ‘fairly possible’ one . . . . As we have explained, ‘every reasonable construction must be resorted to, in order to save a statute from unconstitutionality.’ . . . . The Government asks us to interpret the mandate as imposing a tax, if it would otherwise violate the Constitution. Granting the Act the full measure of deference owed to federal statutes, it can be so read, for the reasons set forth below . . . .
“The Affordable Care Act’s requirement that certain individuals pay a financial penalty for not obtaining health insurance may reasonably be characterized as a tax. Because the Constitution permits such a tax, it is not our role to forbid it, or to pass upon its wisdom or fairness.”

Re: SCOTUS LIVEBLOG - Obamacare Mandate Survives [W:125]

Originally Posted by iguanaman

Or could he have heard the Conservatives call to not legislate from the bench? We'll never know, sigh.

America has become a Kingdom of Lies. The actual truth no longer matters. The political culture demands that your side pay a price for its victory. The contention that Roberts was intimidated is useful according to the terms of American political culture. Neither of us made these rules, but we can't deny that the political culture now demands that any ammunition available be used to obtain partisn advantage. Both Democrats and Republicans do it.